Witnessed by: TCM · Unani
Coptis (Coptis chinensis), of the Ranunculaceae family. Low perennial herb rising from a knotted golden rhizome; native range: Mountain forests of central and southern China. Globally recognized as huang lian (黄连) in Chinese, mamiran-e-chini (ماميران) in Arabic, and Chinese goldthread in English. The part used is rhizome. Knotted, bird-claw rhizomes with a vivid golden core, intensely and enduringly bitter on the tongue.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
COPTIS
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Coptis
- Scientific name
- Coptis chinensis Franch.
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Form
- Part used
- rhizome
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- bitter
- Unani
- bitter
Temperature
TCM: cold
Unani: cold (2nd degree)
convergence: all {witness_count} witnesses converge on a draining, bitter cold
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Heart · Liver · Stomach · Large Intestine
- Unani
- liver · stomach
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- clears heat, drains fire, dries damp-heat and resolves fire-toxicity
- Unani
- bitter tonic (mundij), deobstruent and detergent, and a cooling collyrium for the eyes
Cautions
- Contraindications
- cold deficient spleen and stomach with poor appetite and loose stool, and yin deficiency
- Toxicity
- very bitter and cold — prolonged or heavy use injures the stomach and dulls the appetite
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